5008. Reticulation of aluminium alloys

Letter 5008

Reticulation of aluminium alloys

Hello, I am currently completing my M.A. My subject is the detailed multi-colouring of anodised aluminium. My research has been directed towards metal artists, not commercial production.

When heat reticulating alloys, patches of metal will not accept dye after anodising. Is this due to an alloy separation that has occurred when the metal was heated? The problem does not occur when using pure aluminium.

Jennifer Walsh
- Australia

Hello, Jenifer. Different aluminum alloys anodize at markedly different voltages. Some alloys will burn at a given voltage while others won't even anodize at that voltage. I don't know much about reticulation, but it seems to be a process that will result in localized areas of differing alloys, which would be a disaster for an anodizer :-)

Ted Mooney, P.E.
finishing.com - Brick, NJ

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